The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
3-0
Iowa
2-1
No. 10/10 Men’s Basketball rallies to beat No. nr/25 Iowa, 71-57
11.20.2014 | Men's Basketball
Holmes scores 17 of his 19 points in second-half comeback.
NEW YORK – Senior forward Jonathan Holmes scored 17 of his team-high 19 points in the second half to lead No. 10/10 Texas to a 71-57 win over No. nr/25 Iowa on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden to advance to the 2K Classic championship game. Isaiah Taylor added 15 points and Javan Felix chipped in 11 for the Longhorns.
Trailing 30-24 at the break, Holmes scored 11 points on 6-of-8 shooting in the opening 3:20 of the second half to lead an 18-7 Texas run which gave the Longhorns a 42-37 advantage with 16:40 remaining. UT (3-0) outscored Iowa by a 47-27 margin in the second half.
Texas converted 17-of-28 (.607) field goals, including 4-of-7 from three-point range, in the decisive second half. The Horns held Iowa to just 29.6% shooting from the floor (16-of-54), marking the third consecutive opponent that Texas has held below the 30 percent mark to open the season.
Aaron White led the Hawkeyes with 23 points, including 14-of-16 from the free throw line, and eight rebounds.
Iowa (2-1) jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the opening 4:41 of the contest. Demarcus Holland scored Texas' first five points, including a three-pointer, which sparked a 7-0 run to climb back to 13-9. Iowa scored its first 19 points from either the free throw line or beyond the three-point line, starting 0-of-13 from two-point range.
Texas would come as close as two, trailing 17-15 with 9:04 left, before a 10-0 run gave the Hawkeyes their largest lead of the night (27-15) at the 4:52 mark. A pair of baskets by Kendal Yancy and Felix in the final minute cut Iowa's lead to 30-24 heading into the half.
Holmes came out of the locker room on fire, scoring the first eight points for Texas to tie the score at 32-all. Connor Lammert's tip-in at the 17:37 mark gave UT its first lead of the game (36-35).
Iowa tied the game at 43-all with 13:56 remaining, but Texas answered with a 13-0 run to stretch its lead to 56-43 at the 8:04 mark. In all, UT held Iowa without a point for a stretch of 6:40 in the second half.
Texas continued to increase its lead down the stretch, building a 71-52 cushion with 1:49 remaining, its largest advantage of the game.
Texas faces California on Friday night in the 2K Classic championship game. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 6:30 p.m. Central (7:30 p.m. Eastern), or 30 minutes following the conclusion of the tourney's consolation game, at Madison Square Garden. The game will be televised nationally on ESPN2.
Postgame Notes
No. 10/10 Texas 71, nr/25 Iowa 57
2K Classic benefitting Wounded Warrior Project Semifinals
November 20, 2014
Madison Square Garden (New York City, N.Y.)
Attendance: 11,541
Team Notes
Texas outscored Iowa by a 47-27 margin in the second half (trailed 30-24 at the break.)
The Longhorns converted 17-of-28 (.607) field goals in the second half, including a 4-of-7 mark from three-point range.
Trailing 30-24 at the break, Texas used an 18-7 spurt in the opening 3:20 of the second half to grab a 42-37 lead with 16:40 left.
The Longhorns held Iowa scoreless for a span of 6:37 (13:58 to 7:19 mark of second half). The game was tied at 43-all, and Texas went on a 13-0 run during this stretch.
UT limited Iowa to 57 points on 29.6% FG shooting (16-of-54), including a 4-of-14 (.286) mark from three-point range. The Horns have held each of their first three opponents to below 30% FG shooting.
Texas improved to 240-26 in the Rick Barnes era when holding its opponent below 40% FG shooting.
Reached double figures in scoring (11 points) for the first time this year and 30th time in his career (71 games).
Reached double figures in scoring (19 points) for the second time this year and 44th time in his career (98 games).
Holmes had 17 of his 19 points in the second half while hitting 6-of-8 field goals, including 3-of-4 from three-point range. He scored the first eight points for UT in the opening 1:25 of the second half.
Reached double figures in scoring (15 points) for the third time this year and 30th time in his career (38 games).
Taylor had 11 of his 15 points in the second half while hitting 4-of-4 FG and 4-of-5 FT.
